Xiaomi thrashes LG to enter top 5 smartphone makers list

In what may come as a surprise to many critics, Xiaomi has managed to book a spot for it in the top five smartphone brands list, and we are not talking just China but globally.

According to data released by Strategy Analytics, Xiaomi now owns a 5.1 percent market share in the second quarter of 2014 making it the fifth largest handset maker in terms of the number of units shipped in the quarter. The company managed to push past LG, which owing to the LG G3, had itself done quite well in the quarter, only to prove that it indeed is the ‘Apple of China’.

Xiaomi, which is comparatively new to the global smartphone market, had just a 1.8 percent share a year ago. However in the previous quarter, company which has been steadily expanding in places like Philippines and India, managed to ship 15.1 million handsets. Interestingly, Huawei, which is currently at the fourth spot shipped just 15.8 million units, thus giving rise to possibility that it may soon be surpassed by Xiaomi. And if the sales in India, which started in this quarter, are any indication, Xiaomi is close to grabbing the fourth spot.

Speaking about the shipments in the Q2 2014, Woody Oh, Director, Strategy Analytics, said, “Xiaomi was the star performer in the quarter, capturing a record 5 percent market share and rising into fifth place in the global smartphone rankings for the first time ever. Xiaomi’s Android smartphone models are wildly popular in the Chinese market and it shifts millions of them every quarter through its extensive online and operator channels. Xiaomi’s next step is to target the international market in Asia and Europe, where it will have to invest big money to familiarize western consumers with its unfamiliar brand name.”